


Sincerely, Flora

by TheMockingJ3



Series: Put Yourself Back In The Narrative [4]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series, Layton's Mystery Journey
Genre: Flora Reinhold/Original Female Character(s) (Not the focus), Flora is critical of Layton’s decisions during the Relics investigation, Flora will fight for Marina Triton, Gen, Grief, The struggles of being an older sister/parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25674853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMockingJ3/pseuds/TheMockingJ3
Summary: As Flora responds to some of her friends' letters, she realises how much she misses Luke and the professor.
Relationships: Flora & a lot of characters, Flora Reinhold & Arianna Barde, Flora Reinhold & Brenda Triton, Flora Reinhold & Desmond Sycamore, Flora Reinhold & Emmy Altava, Flora Reinhold & Hershel Layton, Flora Reinhold & Katrielle Layton, Flora Reinhold & Luke Triton, Flora Reinhold & Marina Triton
Series: Put Yourself Back In The Narrative [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831519
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Sincerely, Flora

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: For most of the series, including the anime.  
> Set: About a year after Layton and Luke disappeared. A follow-up to the previous fic in this series, 'Dear Flora'. Flora replies to a few of those letters.  
> Warnings: Grief, missing family members, Flora being critical of Layton and Luke during their Relic Stones investigation  
> Note: I wrote this and 'Dear Flora' after receiving a Whump prompt for Flora- 'Secret Injuries'

_Em,_

_It's a relief to hear that the agency aren't involved... I still can't believe the professor never mentioned them! After everything you and Uncle have told me, I hope we never cross paths with those vultures. Don't worry— I memorised Grosky's phone number and I made sure Fen and Kitty did too._

_Though, at the same time, it's disappointing that_ ~~_we've_ ~~ _you've exhausted another lead._

_Where will you be investigating next? Is there anyone else who might hold a grudge against the professor?  
_

_All of the people on my list are in prison... well, except for one, but he wrote to me insisting he isn't the perpetrator. I'd be more inclined to believe him if he spoke to me in person!_

_Maybe you could come home and help us track him down? Kitty said she misses her favourite aunt!_

_And we could make up some better codenames while you're here._

_You stay safe too!_

_Flora_

* * *

_To Our Wise Guardian,_

_Thank you for searching for our reclusive father and looking after our restless uncle._

_I trust Miss Altava with my life. If she believes the agency aren’t to blame, then I believe her. I don't care what she did in the past anymore then I care about Uncle's past. She wants to find the professor just as much as he does._

_Please remind Uncle of that, and don't let him burn down any trees. Climate change is a real thing._

_If you aren't having any joy with the Azran sites, maybe you should take a break. (It sounds like Uncle needs it!) There’s a park just across the road from us where you could land the_ ~~_Bos_ ~~ _airship. I’d love to finally see inside it! Luke told me once that the sofas are super comfy._

_Fen wants to talk to Uncle about this device he's been working on. And Kitty has been begging for some new books..._

_Until next time,_

_The Layton Clan_

* * *

_Dear Brenda & Clark,_

_We're doing alright here, though we'd be lost without Rosa!_

_Alfendi has been given some extra time to complete his end-of-year project. At Kat's last parents’ evening, her teachers said she can be quiet in class but other than that, they're pleased with her progress._

_Yes, Grandma Lucille is home now— we went to visit her and Grandpa Roland the other day._ ~~_I just received_ ~~ _Kuri is still with her family in Japan._

_I feel awful for Marina's family... Please tell them that they're welcome here in England as well. I'm sure that wherever they are, Luke will protect Marina with his life._

_...Arianna mentioned Tony's wedding. We'll all have to go dress shopping together. Kat's already decided she wants a yellow dress. (You might have some competition, Brenda!) Can Clark help Al choose a suit? He's a nightmare to shop for!_

_We can't wait to see you both. If you need help with the move, just give us a call._

_Love,_

_Flora, Al & Kat xoxo_

* * *

_Dear Arianna,_

_Don't worry about the late reply! You should see my desk— there are SO many letters I haven't even opened yet!_ ~~_I wish_ ~~ _I really wish Luke was here. He’s so much more organised than I am..._

**~~_I miss him too—_ ~~ **

* * *

The ink was smudged from Flora’s tears. She tried to hide it by scribbling out the last line, but there was no saving the letter now. Sniffing, she crumpled the paper into a tight ball and threw it at her bedroom wall. She didn’t bother aiming for the overflowing plastic bin.

What a _waste._ If Alfendi or Kat had done that, she would have tutted at them. They couldn’t afford to be wasteful, even with the emergency savings their father had left them… 

Flora squeezed her black fountain pen (a twenty-first birthday gift from the professor), wishing she could snap it in half. 

He had _planned_ for this. He _knew_ he’d be gone for so long and there was a chance he would never return.

Flora hadn’t come to say goodbye to he and Luke the day they set off, but Rosa had. 

_“What’s the point in searching for the girl’s father, after all these years? Why take the risk? Don’t you love Kat, Professor!?”_

Yes, of course he did, but he wanted to solve the mystery behind her family. Solving a puzzle about a bunch of _rocks_ was more important than raising his daughter, apparently. He had adopted Kat and now he was _leaving her behind_. 

Flora huffed out a tearful laugh. She, more than anyone, should have seen it coming. But she had believed ( _assumed)_ it would be different with Kat. 

The professor had taken Kat in when she was a tiny baby. A baby couldn’t be left home alone or sent to school. Parenting was a full-time job (as Flora was well aware these days). 

Luke had laughed when the professor first announced that _he_ would be Kat’s father. 

Everyone, Flora included, had expected the majority of responsibility would fall on Rosa. Or, in Rosa’s absence, another eager friend or family member. (Grandma and Grandpa Layton, Uncle Desmond, the Monte d’Or gang…) The babysitting offers came flooding in much faster than when Alfendi was little. A newborn baby was far more appealing than a grief-stricken child. 

Flora would have helped look after her siblings even more, had she not been so busy preparing for university. 

But, in the professor’s defence, he had refused to take on any new cases and he had reduced his work hours. When he couldn’t escape his office at Gressenheller, he would bring Kat with him.

He had chosen the name ‘Katrielle’. It was an unusual name, but it went well with ‘Alfendi’. 

You would think eight-year-old Alfendi would be jealous of all the attention his new sister was receiving. It was quite the opposite. By spending more time with Kat, the professor spent more time with Alfendi; trips to the park, the library, the museum… 

Flora would join them whenever she got the chance. Kat was the glue that brought them all together. 

The professor had ‘officially’ adopted Katrielle Layton when she turned three. It seemed he had given up on finding her biological father…

And then Luke ( _Darn him!)_ had to stick his nose back in to the Relic Stones business. 

He had married Marina in secret just so they could move to England without the professor’s knowledge. Consequently, Flora had been kept in the dark too.

That hurt. After all these years, Luke still didn’t trust her. 

She could have assisted him with the investigation. She wouldn’t have told the professor… 

Luke had shut her out, along with Marina. ( _Poor Marina…)_

Thankfully, Marina had sought out the professor as soon as Luke went missing. 

The idiot had gotten himself caught by Don Paolo. (Yes, a similar fate had befallen Flora once… when she was _fifteen._ Luke was _twenty-five_ , trained in _karate_ and he should have _known_ _better!_ ) 

After Luke’s rescue, he was dragged back to the Layton household for a family reunion. Flora had given Luke an earful— “YOU DIDN’T INVITE US TO YOUR _WEDDING_ AND THEN YOU _ABANDONED_ YOUR NEW WIFE?!!”—before she hugged him. She had thought that would be the end of the whole Relics fiasco. 

She’d thought wrong. 

The professor had gotten involved after that. Family outings were pushed aside in favour of the Relics Stones. 

At Alfendi’s eighteenth birthday meal, the professor and Luke had been trading research notes under the table. 

Flora had found a house with her girlfriend, Kuri. The professor had never once visited them, despite Flora’s many invitations. 

The day Luke left for his journey with the professor, Marina had called Flora, _crying_ because she and Luke had fallen out. Flora had gone to comfort her. (That was the last time Flora had any contact with Marina.)

Flora didn’t blame Luke as much as the professor. Luke was a young man fresh out of university— reckless, full of heart and loyal to a fault. He had watched Kat’s birth mother die and now he wanted to scour the world for answers. But, as Arianna had said, the world was so _vast…_

When Kat was born, Luke had been a student— too young to look after a baby by himself. So, the professor had accepted the role of being Kat’s parent. 

The professor couldn’t just adopt a child ( _three c_ hildren) and run off ten years later. 

Kat wasn’t a puzzle that needed to be solved. She was a _little girl._

A girl who never stopped eating sweets, but enjoyed going to the dentist if they would give her a sticker. 

A girl who still hoped Santa and the Easter Bunny were real, even if the Tooth Fairy was fiction. 

A girl who practiced her dad’s ‘detective’ poses in the mirror. 

A girl who didn’t like tea, but still insisted on drinking it.

A girl who could hold a heated debate with her older brother (eight years her senior). 

A girl whose family couldn’t afford a dog, so she stopped to pet every stray she met on the street. 

A girl who thought people would only befriend her because of her last name. A girl who feared those friends would leave her when they learned of her father’s absence. 

A girl who dreamed about her dad every night and woke up in tears.

A girl who was always trying to make her big sister smile…

_“Hey, Floor…?”_ Kat knocked on Flora’s bedroom door, but she didn’t wait for Flora to answer. She burst in to see Flora wiping her eyes. Kat wondered, “What’s for dinner?” 

“I, erm… I thought we could have lamb stew,” Flora suggested, standing up from her desk chair. 

“Lamb stew? That’s Uncle Luke’s favourite!”

It was actually _roast lamb…_ Flora could feel her eyes burning again. She turned away from Kat and tidied her desk. “I’ll be down in a minute,” she said distractedly. 

“I can help you clean up!” 

“Don’t worry, Kat—“

“Have you been writing more letters…?”

Flora glanced at Kat. Kat was picking up the ball of paper that had missed the bin— Arianna’s letter. Flora gasped, _“Don’t...!”_

Kat, ever curious, smoothed out the letter and read it to herself. She frowned when she reached the end. 

Flora sighed. “No one was meant to read that…”

Kat carefully placed the letter on Flora’s desk. “I miss him,” Kat mumbled. “And Dad…” 

“I know…” Flora touched Kat’s head. “I do, too.” Her words were mainly intended to reassure Kat, but Flora meant it.

She missed them— _both o_ f them— so much. No matter how much they had pushed her away, she missed them and she wanted them back. 

“That’s okay,” Kat whispered, reaching up to grab Flora’s hand. She tugged Flora out of her bedroom and downstairs to where Alfendi was impatiently setting the table for dinner. 

* * *

After Al and Kat had gone to bed, Flora rewrote her letter to Arianna, signing off with: 

_…I miss him too. It’s okay if you ever want to talk about it. I’ll be here._

_Sincerely,_

_Flora_


End file.
